Tears
by LightHawk
Summary: Shadow's thoughts as he falls. R


Disclaimer:Don't own...don't sue.  
  
  
  
Tears  
  
  
  
  
...He was falling. Even as the oxygen ignited around him, he felt no pain. The silver  
  
and red hedgehog known as Shadow was plummeting through the burning atmosphere. But even he   
  
did not know this as his mind was focused on the images floating through his head, the rings   
  
keeping him alive slipping away second by second.   
  
Shadow's mind was racing (figures, eh?) as multiple images flashed through his mind.  
  
ARK...GUN...Maria... His face contorted into what imagined a smile to be. For once in his life,  
  
he felt...complete...that his purpose had been served. But a nagging voice in the back of his  
  
his head asked him once again if this is what Maria had wanted. He felt sure of it..didn't he?  
  
The voice kept arguing with him, even as he looked up at the ARK, its grandness blocking out   
  
the sun. He turned, his gaze falling upon what was left of the moon, and he grimaced at the   
  
sight...Had he done that? Shadow shook his head, and opened his eyes in time to see a bright   
  
pink light fly between his eyes.  
  
...Where was he...? He was standing on solid ground, even though it was floating in the  
  
sky...! Sanctuary in the Sky, this must be the place that Prof. Gerrald had been talking about.  
  
He glanced around, trying to take in as much as possible, when his eyes fell upon what looked   
  
like the shrine in the core of the ARK. But this altar was in ruins. The Chaos Emeralds vacant  
  
from the obelisks, the trees burning around the shrine. The thing that unnerved Shadow the most  
  
was the near invisible Master Emerald. It reflected some of the light given off by the dim fires  
  
around the altar.  
  
From the distance came a horrible roar, like a wounded beast that felt only anger and   
  
hate. He might have been that animal barely a half-hour before, but that pink hedgehog had  
  
stirred within him the full extent of his memories. Something with a roar like that had to be  
  
at least the size of the Biolizard. But..there was nothing else that massive...was there.  
  
Shadow's eyes widened in shock as the conclusion reached him. 'Chaos...that was the  
  
monster that had helped defeat the FINALHazard. It emerged from the Master Emerald, didn't it?  
  
It must have absorbed the Chaos Emeralds and...this must be a vision! But of what...?' The   
  
answer cam to him shortly as he saw a body of a young...echidna? But they were extinct, except  
  
for Knuckles. 'I must be in the past, it's the only thing that makes sense.' He walked by her,  
  
not wanting to change the past, who knows what could happen. He kept walking, his thoughts a   
  
jumbled mix of whats and whys. He stopped suddenly as his foot impacted something soft.  
  
He glanced down and tumbled backwards finally landing on his rear on the grass. Shadow  
  
choked out a yelp as he turned his head away from the horrible sight. Lying upon the ground  
  
ahead of him was a dead Chao. Others lay around him, and as he tried to hide his head in his  
  
hands, he jumped in shock. His hands had blood smeared across them from the crimson ground  
  
below his sneakers. He wiped his hands on his quills, covering them in blood, not caring as he  
  
imagined his own chao Shady sleeping in the Chao garden.  
  
Shadow knelt down, and began to cry. He cried until rain began to fall around him,  
  
mingling with his tears and washing away the blood from the ground. The fires were slowly put  
  
out, and he gazed up to see the Master Emerald, green once again, shining brightly as the sun  
  
rose once again, completing the never-ending cycle that is life. His red-eyed face rose to meet  
  
the sun rise and as the sun peeked over the horizon, a white light flooded his vision.  
  
..Back in space. Shadow did not know how much time had passed, but he was still silver,  
  
so he took it as a good sign. Shadow was still falling however, and he was now beginning to feel  
  
the burning sensations as his Hyper form began to fade away. He glance around wildly, searching   
  
for any means of escape. 'I will NOT die. I still have not fufilled my promise to Maria, and I   
  
will not rest until I do.' His gaze finally fell upon the fake emerald, its yellow gleaming with  
  
the strange powers endowed in it by Tails. 'Sonic used it, and so can the Ultimate Lifeform!'   
  
He oustretched his hand as his fur began to darken back to its usual color, and he began to slow   
  
down as his rings disappeared. "CHAOS...", Shadow yelled above theroaring around him. "CONTROL!"  
  
  
  
Author's notes: Yipee... I'm on a roll. Just wait for "Back in Black" boys and girls. And   
  
remember, R&R! 


End file.
